Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as an MFP (Multi-Functional Peripheral) and relates to technologies related to an image forming apparatus.
Description of the Background Art
There is an high-speed startup technique (also referred to as a hibernation startup technique) in which when a main power supply of an MFP is turned into an on-state, a user will be able to use functions of the MFP in a short time (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-10470, for example).
In the high-speed startup technique, supply of power is not stopped immediately in response to a turn-off operation of a main power switch, but a period for which power is continuously supplied even after the turn-off operation (such a period will be referred to as a power supply continuation period) is provided, so that a process to store device state information (also referred to as evacuation object information) is performed in the period. In more detail, as a preparation for the subsequent on-state of the main power switch, a process (also referred to as a snapshot obtaining process) is performed such that device state information (data in a RAM of a controller, data stored in resisters of processing units, and the like) at the time when the main power switch is turned into an off-state is stored in a nonvolatile storage. With this configuration, when the main power switch is subsequently turned into an on-state, the device state information (snapshot data) obtained in the immediately preceding snapshot obtaining process is used. By this operation, the MFP can be quickly returned to an activated state (in detail, a state (ready state) in which a job can be performed).
Meanwhile, various optional devices (for example, a finisher device, an authentication device, and the like) can be attached to and detached from an image forming apparatus.
Thus, even in the case where the above hibernation startup technique is applied, there is a possibility that an optional device is changed in a period between the power-off operation and the subsequent power-on operation. In other words, there is a possibility that a device configuration of the image forming apparatus is changed in a power-off period.
In the case where the device configuration of the image forming apparatus has been changed, if the snapshot data obtained at the time of the power-off operation is used at the time of the subsequent power-on operation, various problem can be caused by the inconsistency between the previous device configuration and the current device configuration. For example, when one optional device is detached from the image forming apparatus in the power-off period, the image forming apparatus tries to perform a restoration process of the snapshot data about the optional device immediately after the power-on operation. However, because the optional device is not attached, the restoration process will eventually fail (an error will occur).
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2014-10470 describes a technique in which if it is determined that there is a change in optional components in an information processing device, a user is prompted, at the time of returning from a suspend state, to restart the information processing device. If that technique is applied to the above situation related to an image forming apparatus, it is possible to solve the above-described problem that an inconsistency occurs between the previous device configuration (optional components) and the current device configuration.
However, in the case where such a technique is applied, when it is determined, at the time of a power-on operation, that the device configuration of the image forming apparatus has been changed, an initialization process of the image forming apparatus is always performed; thus, the snapshot data are not used, whereby an effect of reducing a start-up time cannot be obtained at all.